1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to filtration devices for water and, more particularly, to a portable water filtration device which includes a liquid-tight filter container having side walls, a base wall, a top opening and a lid for covering and sealing the top opening and a filtration device mounted within the liquid-tight container, the filtration device including an inlet opening which is connectable to a water source to be filtered, a first filtration device in liquid transfer connection with the inlet opening, a second filtration device in liquid transfer connection with the outlet of the first filtration device, the first and second filtration devices being selected from a group including ultraviolet, activated carbon and reverse osmosis water filters, an outlet opening in liquid transfer connection with the outlet of the second filtration device, the inlet and outlet openings being interchangeable such that water to be filtered may enter through either the inlet or outlet opening with water flow through the device proceeding in either direction, a battery device operative to supply power to one of the first and second filtration devices and a solar panel connectable to the battery device for recharging the battery device for use thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Obtaining potable water is generally not a pressing concern for those of us fortunate enough to have been born in or raised in industrialized nations such as the United States, the nations of Europe and other such well-to-do nations. We generally take for granted the ability to turn the faucet on and drink water directly from the tap no matter where we are in those countries and thus do not concern ourselves with the fact that much of the fresh water available on the earth's surface is not acceptable for drinking without applying some kind of treatment or filtration process. However, in many developing third-world countries, it is not always so easy to obtain water for drinking. In general, water in these countries must be treated and/or purified by the drinker of the water prior to its becoming potable. Various chemical and mechanical contrivances has been designed to prepare and/or filter the water, but each of these devices have inherent disadvantages, usually relating to the volume of water which can be prepared and the ease by which the filtration or water preparation unit can be transferred to the location where it is needed.
These problems become even greater in magnitude during natural disasters and in the immediate aftermath thereof. For example, in the December 2004 tsunamis which traveled throughout the Indian Ocean basin, many of the developing and/or third-world countries in the area were severely impacted by the enormous waves. One of the major difficulties encountered after the tsunamis occurred was obtaining potable water for the millions of survivors, as the vast majority of available water sources had been contaminated by bacteria, minerals or other such contaminants. The individuals hardest hit in the tsunami disaster were unable to obtain potable water, which led to the deaths of countless other persons who could have been saved had access to potable water been provided. There is therefore a need for a portable water filtration device which may be quickly and easily transported to a location where it is needed and also which is capable of providing a substantial amount of potable water to enable a large number of persons to obtain potable water from the filtration device.
Several examples are found in the prior art which attempt to address and solve this problem, including such devices as Selig, U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,251, Wismeth, U.S. Pat. No. 6,861,652 and Lin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,411. Each of these prior art devices, however, include inherent disadvantages which do not permit their use in a situation where ease of portability and rapid filtration of substantial quantities of water is required. For example, Wismeth discloses a tank which disinfects aqueous media through use of a UV source, but only cleans a small quantity of drinking water at one time, thus rendering it useless for providing water to a large number of individuals. Selig and Lin, on the other hand, disclose filtration devices which will sterilize a larger quantity of water but which are not designed for transportability and thus cannot be quickly and easily transported to a location where the filtration of water is needed. There is therefore a need for an easily portable water filtration device which is also capable of filtering relatively large quantities of water to provide to a number of individuals needing the purified water.
Therefore an object of the present invention is to provide an improved portable water filtration device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved portable water filtration device which includes a liquid-tight filter container and a filtration device mounted within the liquid-tight filter container which includes at least two filters selected from the group including UV filters, activated carbon filters and reverse osmosis filters, depending upon the filtration needs of the user of the present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved portable water filtration device which is relatively light in weight thus permitting it to be easily transported and carried to locations where water filtration is needed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide and improved portable water filtration device which includes a battery unit connectable to an AC power source or to a solar panel or the like for charging the battery in order to power the UV filter and/or external pumping device to drive water into and through the portable water filtration device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide and improved portable water filtration device which does not include a pumping device built into the device to reduce weight and decrease the possibility of breakdowns of the elements of the unit.
Another object of the present invention is to provide and improved portable water filtration device which is usable with water flow through the device in either direction therethrough, i.e. the inlet and outlet openings are interchangeable for use.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide and improved portable water filtration device which is relatively simple and durable in design and construction and is safe, efficient and economical in use.